Universal roaming is a concept that has been practiced in cellular systems and particularly in Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) for over two decades now. Enjoying their mobile communications, cellular subscribers travel from coverage areas of one Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to those of another PLMN, expecting a seamless hand over and continuity of service. Furthermore, subscribers expect the roaming PLMN to understand and operate according to their subscription profile and based on their contracts with their home PLMN operator. When the roaming PLMN happens to be in a different geographical region (e.g., state or country) with different regulations, tariffs and taxations, cellular subscribers expect the roaming PLMN and home PLMN together will manage to resolve all the differences and the home PLMN will provide the user with a single bill. The subscribers may be charged certain roaming charges for the services they utilized while using the roaming PLMN cells. Pre-planning and pre-paid services are provisioned by the network of participating PLMNs to reduce or eliminate these charges.
The advancement and wide spread availability of wireless data services and powerful smart devices in the last few years has led to the creation and rapid usage of mobile applications (or apps). As these mobile apps become more sophisticated, some of them may become involved with providing services that are regulated by local jurisdictional governments; these apps make the locally regulated businesses available globally. The apps are designed to operate from, and under the control of a Mobile App Service Provider (MASP), which in some cases try to embed local taxes and some of the regulations in their hosted solutions. However, these centrally controlled apps and the services they provide bypass the locally regulated and licensed operators, which dilute or eliminate the liabilities and the purpose of local regulations and licensing. Global app availability is positive and desirable; however, the administration of regulations becomes very difficult and the responsibility and goal of locally licensed operators are thereby diminished.